Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 1
सूत उवाच । शिवो गुरुः शिवो देवः शिवो बंधुः शरीरिणाम् । शिव आत्मा शिवो जीवःशिवादन्यन्न किञ्चन
sūta uvāca | śivo guruḥ śivo devaḥ śivo baṃdhuḥ śarīriṇām | śiva ātmā śivo jīvaḥśivādanyanna kiñcana
സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ശിവൻ ഗുരുവാണ്, ശിവൻ ദേവനാണ്, ശിവൻ ദേഹധാരികളുടെ ബന്ധുവാണ്. ശിവൻ ആത്മാവാണ്, ശിവൻ ജീവനും; ശിവനെക്കാൾ വേറൊന്നുമില്ല।
Sūta
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (implied)
Scene: Sūta addressing sages in a forest hermitage; behind him a symbolic vision of Śiva pervading all—Śiva as guru and inner Self, with subtle cosmic motifs (liṅga, crescent, gaṅgā, five faces suggested).
FAQs
All refuge—teacher, deity, inner Self, and life-force—is affirmed as Śiva, establishing total dependence and devotion.
No tīrtha is specified; the verse is doctrinal, praising Śiva’s all-pervading reality.
None directly; it lays the theological foundation for Śiva-bhakti and worship.